Display device having a touch sensor

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments provide a thin and lightweight organic light-emitting display device having a touch sensor. The organic light-emitting display device having a touch sensor includes a touch-sensing line and a touch-driving line disposed on an encapsulation stack so as to overlap each other. The touch-sensing line and the touch-driving line overlap each other in a location in which an organic touch dielectric film and an inorganic touch dielectric film are disposed therebetween, thereby preventing the generation of spots in the event of degeneration of the organic touch dielectric film and preventing damage to the organic touch dielectric film.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/070,801, filed Oct. 14, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/850,888, filed Dec. 21, 2017 claims the benefitof Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0180050, filed on Dec. 27,2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forthherein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a display device, and moreparticularly to a display device manufactured through a simplifiedprocess at reduced costs.

Description of the Related Art

A touchscreen is an input device that allows a user to input a commandby selecting one of multiple instructions displayed on a screen, such asa display device, using a user's hand or an object. That is, thetouchscreen converts a contact position at which the user's hand or theobject directly contacts the touchscreen into an electrical signal toreceive the instruction selected at the contact position as an inputsignal. The touchscreen has come to be increasingly used, since thetouchscreen is capable of replacing an additional input device that isconnected to the display device for operation, such as a keyboard or amouse.

In most cases, the touchscreen is generally attached to the front of adisplay panel, such as a liquid crystal display panel or an organicelectro-luminescent display panel, using an adhesive. Since thetouchscreen is separately manufactured and is attached to the front ofthe display panel, the process is complicated and costs are increaseddue to the addition of an attaching step.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a display device thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

Various embodiments provide a display device manufactured through asimplified process at reduced costs.

Additional advantages and features of the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be set forth in part in the description asfollows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skillin the art upon examination of the following or may be learned frompractice of the various embodiments. Other advantages of the variousembodiments may be realized and attained by the structure particularlypointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as theappended drawings.

According to one embodiment, an organic light-emitting display devicehaving a touch sensor includes a touch-sensing line and a touch-drivingline disposed on an encapsulation stack so as to overlap each other. Thetouch-sensing line and the touch-driving line overlap each other in alocation in which an organic touch dielectric film and an inorganictouch dielectric film are disposed therebetween, thereby preventing thegeneration of spots in the event of degeneration of the organic touchdielectric film and preventing damage to the organic touch dielectricfilm.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure are exemplary and explanatory, and are intended toprovide further explanation of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of thepresent disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explainthe various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice having a touch sensor according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the organic light-emitting display devicehaving the touch sensor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the organic light-emitting display devicehaving the touch sensor shown in FIG. 1 taken along lines I-I′ andII-II′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a plan view showing another embodiment of a bridge.

FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the another embodiment of the bridgetaken along line of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice having a touch sensor according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure taken along lines I-I′ and II-II′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a detailed plan view of first and second touch electrodes andfirst and second bridges shown in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are sectional views illustrating a method ofmanufacturing the organic light-emitting display device shown in FIG. 5;and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice having a touch sensor according to a third embodiment of thepresent disclosure taken along lines I-I′ and II-II′ of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice having a touch sensor according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 isa plan view of the organic light-emitting display device having thetouch sensor shown in FIG. 1. It is beneficial to review FIGS. 1 and 2simultaneously.

The organic light-emitting display device, more specifically, the touchsensor detects variation in mutual capacitance Cm due to a user's touchduring a touch period. The touch sensor detects variation in mutualcapacitance Cm through touch electrode 152 e of a touch driving line 152and touch electrode 154 e of a touch-sensing line 154 shown in FIG. 2during a touch period. The touch sensor senses whether a touch has beenperformed and the touched position based on the variation in mutualcapacitance Cm.

The organic light-emitting display device having the touch sensor shownin FIG. 1 displays an image through respective unit pixels. Each of theunit pixels includes a light-emitting element 120. In one embodiment,each unit pixel includes red (R), green (G), and blue (B) sub-pixelsPXL. Alternatively, each unit pixel includes red (R), green (G), blue(B), and white (W) sub-pixels PXL.

To this end, the organic light-emitting display device shown in FIG. 1includes a plurality of sub-pixels PXL arranged on a substrate 111 in,for example, a matrix fashion, an encapsulation stack 140 disposed onthe sub-pixels PXL, and touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e disposed on theencapsulation stack 140. The encapsulation stack 140 may be composed ofvarious layers or sublayers as explained herein.

In one embodiment, as best shown in FIG. 2, each of the touch electrodes152 e and 154 e are rectangular or diamond shape. The shape of the touchelectrodes 152 e and 154 e minimize the amount of space between thetouch electrodes 152 e and 154 e, and maximize the total numberelectrodes 152 e and 154 e that may be included in the touch sensor.

Each of the sub-pixels PXL includes a pixel-driving circuit and thelight-emitting element 120 connected to the pixel-driving circuit.

The pixel-driving circuit includes a switching transistor T1, a drivingtransistor T2, and a storage capacitor Cst.

When a scan pulse is supplied to a scan line SL, the switchingtransistor T1 is turned on to supply a data signal, which is supplied toa data line DL, to the storage capacitor Cst and a gate electrode of thedriving transistor T2.

In response to the data signal being supplied to the gate electrode ofthe driving transistor T2, the driving transistor T2 controls current Isupplied from a high-voltage (VDD) supply line to the light-emittingelement 120 to adjust the amount of light emitted by the light-emittingelement 120. Even when the switching transistor T1 is turned off, thedriving transistor T2 supplies uniform current Ito the light-emittingelement 120 using the voltage charged in the storage capacitor Cst.Accordingly, the light-emitting element 120 is able to keep emittinglight until a data signal of the next frame is supplied.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the organic light-emitting display devicehaving the touch sensor shown in FIG. 1 taken along lines I-I′ andII-II′ shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the driving thin film transistor 130 (T2) includes agate electrode 132, a semiconductor layer 134, and source and drainelectrodes 136 and 138. The semiconductor layer 134 overlaps the gateelectrode 132, and a gate dielectric film 112, which is a firstdielectric film, is disposed therebetween. The source and drainelectrodes 136 and 138 are formed on and extend through an interlayerdielectric film 114, which is a second dielectric film, so as to contactthe semiconductor layer 134. Namely, the source and drain electrodes 136and 138 extend from an upper surface of the interlayer dielectric film114, through the interlayer dielectric film 114, and to thesemiconductor layer 134. In one embodiment, the semiconductor layer 134is made of at least one of an amorphous semiconductor material, apolycrystalline semiconductor material, and an oxide semiconductormaterial.

The light-emitting element 120 includes an anode electrode 122, at leastone light-emitting stack 124 formed on the anode electrode 122, and acathode electrode 126 formed on the light-emitting stack 124.

The anode electrode 122 is electrically connected to the drain electrode138 of the driving thin film transistor 130. Namely, the drain electrode138 is exposed through a pixel contact hole formed through a passivationfilm 116, which is a third dielectric film, and the anode electrode 122extends through the pixel contact hole to contact the drain electrode138.

The light-emitting stack 124 is formed on the anode electrode 122 in alight-emitting area defined by a bank 128. The light-emitting stack 124is formed by stacking a hole-related layer, an organic light-emittinglayer, and an electron-related layer on the anode electrode 122 in thatorder or in the reverse order. The light-emitting stack 124 may includefirst and second light-emitting stacks opposite each other with a chargegeneration layer (CGL) is disposed therebetween. In this embodiment, theorganic light-emitting layer of one of the first and secondlight-emitting stacks generates blue light, and the organiclight-emitting layer of the other of the first and second light-emittingstacks generates yellowish-green light. Consequently, white light isgenerated by the first and second light-emitting stacks. The white lightgenerated by the light-emitting stack 124 may be incident on a colorfilter (not shown), which is located above or under the light-emittingstack 124, to realize a color image. In addition, each light-emittingstack 124 may generate colored light corresponding to each sub-pixelwithout an additional color filter to realize a color image. That is,the light-emitting stack 124 of the red (R) sub-pixel may generate redlight, the light-emitting stack 124 of the green (G) sub-pixel maygenerate green light, and the light-emitting stack 124 of the blue (B)sub-pixel may generate blue light.

The cathode electrode 126 is formed so as to be opposite the anodeelectrode 122 with the light-emitting stack 124 disposed therebetween.In other words, the cathode electrode 126 is spaced from the anodeelectrode 122 by the light-emitting stack 124. The cathode electrode 126is electrically connected to a low-voltage (VSS) supply line.

The encapsulation stack 140 prevents external moisture or oxygen frompermeating into the light-emitting element 120, which has low resistanceto moisture or oxygen. To this end, the encapsulation stack 140 includesa plurality of inorganic encapsulation layers 142 and 146 and an organicencapsulation layer 144 disposed between the inorganic encapsulationlayers 142 and 146. In one embodiment, the inorganic encapsulation layer146 is disposed at the uppermost layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 3,the inorganic encapsulation layer 146 is positioned further away fromthe cathode electrode 126 than the encapsulation layer 142. In oneembodiment, the encapsulation stack 140 includes at least two inorganicencapsulation layers 142 and 146 and at least one organic encapsulationlayer 144. In the present disclosure, an encapsulation stack 140 havinga structure in which an organic encapsulation layer 144 is disposedbetween first and second inorganic encapsulation layers 142 and 146 willbe described by way of example.

The first inorganic encapsulation layer 142 is formed on the substrate111, more specifically on the cathode electrode 126, so as to be closestto the light-emitting element 120. In one embodiment, the firstinorganic encapsulation layer 142 is formed directly on the cathodeelectrode 126. In one embodiment, the first inorganic encapsulationlayer 142 is formed of an inorganic dielectric material that can bedeposited at a low temperature, such as silicon nitride (SiN_(x)),silicon oxide (SiO_(x)), silicon oxide nitride (SiON), or aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃). In this embodiment, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 142is deposited in a low-temperature atmosphere. As a result, it ispossible to prevent damage to the light-emitting stack 124, which haslow resistance to a high-temperature atmosphere, when the firstinorganic encapsulation layer 142 is deposited.

The organic encapsulation layer 144 reduces stress between the layersthat may occur due to bending of the organic light-emitting displaydevice and improves planarization. In one embodiment, the organicencapsulation layer 144 is formed of an organic dielectric material,such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin, polyimide, polyethylene, or siliconoxycarbide (SiOC).

The second inorganic encapsulation layer 146 is formed so as to cover anupper surface 145 and a side surface 147 of the organic encapsulationlayer 144, and to cover an upper surface 149 of the first inorganicencapsulation layer 142 that is left exposed by the organicencapsulation layer 144. Consequently, the second inorganicencapsulation layer 146 minimizes or prevents external moisture oroxygen from permeating into the first inorganic encapsulation layer 142and the organic encapsulation layer 144. In one embodiment, the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 146 is formed of an inorganic dielectricmaterial, such as silicon nitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxide (SiO_(x)),silicon oxide nitride (SiON), or aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃).

The touch-sensing line 154 and the touch-driving line 152 are disposedon the encapsulation stack 140. The touch-sensing line 154 and thetouch-driving line 152 overlap each other in a location in which a touchdielectric film 168 is disposed therebetween. Mutual capacitance Cm isformed at the location where the touch-sensing line 154 and thetouch-driving line 152 overlap each other. The mutual capacitance Cmcharges an electric charge by a touch-driving pulse supplied to thetouch-driving line 152, and discharges the charged electric charge tothe touch-sensing line 154, thereby serving as a touch sensor.

The touch-driving line 152 includes a plurality of first touchelectrodes 152 e, and first bridges 152 b for electricallyinterconnecting the first touch electrodes 152 e.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the first touch electrodes 152 e are spacedapart from each other on the second inorganic encapsulation layer 146 bya predetermined distance in an X direction, which is a first direction.Each of the first touch electrodes 152 e is electrically connected to anadjacent first touch electrode 152 e via a corresponding one of thefirst bridges 152 b.

Returning to FIG. 3, the first bridges 152 b are disposed on the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 146. The first bridges 152 b are disposedin the same plane as (i.e., coplanar with) the first touch electrodes152 e, and are electrically connected to the first touch electrode 152 ewithout requiring the formation of additional contact holes. The firstbridges 152 b are also disposed in the same plane as the second touchelectrodes 154 e.

The touch-sensing line 154 includes a plurality of second touchelectrodes 154 e and second bridges 154 b for electricallyinterconnecting the second touch electrodes 154 e.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the second touch electrodes 154 e are spacedapart from each other on the second inorganic encapsulation layer 146 bya predetermined distance in a Y direction, which is a second direction.Each of the second touch electrodes 154 e is electrically connected toan adjacent second touch electrode 154 e via a corresponding one of thesecond bridges 154 b.

Returning to FIG. 3, the second bridges 154 b are formed on the touchdielectric film 168, extend through touch contact holes 150, which areformed through the touch dielectric film 168, and contact the secondtouch electrodes 154 e so as to be electrically connected to the secondtouch electrodes 154 e. Namely, the second bridge 154 b extends from oneof the second touch electrodes 154 e, over a portion of the touchdielectric film 168 and the first bridge 152 b, and to another of thesecond touch electrodes 154 e. As a result, the second bridge 154 bdirectly overlies the first bridge 152 b and is electrically isolatedfrom the first bridge 152 b. Further, the second touch electrodes 154 eare electrically connected to each other via the second bridge 154 b.

Similar to the first bridges 152 b, the second bridges 154 b arearranged so as to overlap the bank 128. By overlapping the first andsecond bridges 152 b and 154 b, it is possible to reduce the overallarea used by the first and second bridges 152 b and 154 b, and preventthe reduction of an aperture ratio of the organic light-emitting displaydevice.

FIG. 4A is a plan view showing another embodiment of the bridge 154 b.FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the another embodiment of the bridge 154b taken along line III-III′ of FIG. 4A. It is beneficial to review FIGS.4A and 4B simultaneously.

As previously discussed, each of the second bridges 154 b are disposedin a plane that is different from the plane in which the first bridges152 b and the touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e are disposed. However, incontrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the second bridges 154 b asshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are positioned closer to the substrate 111 thanthe first bridges 152 b and the touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e. Inaddition, as the second touch electrodes 154 e are positioned above thesecond bridges 154 b, the second touch electrodes 154 e extend throughthe touch contact holes 150 to contact the second bridges 154 b.

It should be noted that, although not shown, the embodiment shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B may include any of the various layers and componentsdiscussed with respect to FIG. 3. For example, in one embodiment, thesecond bridges 154 b as shown in FIG. 4B are formed on the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 146.

In the embodiment, each of the second bridges 154 b include a pluralityof slits 153, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As a result, the surface areaof each second bridge 154 b shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, which has aplurality of slits 153, is smaller than the surface area of each secondbridge 154 b shown in FIG. 2, which has no slits. Consequently, it ispossible to reduce the amount of external light that is reflected by thesecond bridges 154 b, thereby preventing the reduction of visibility.

Returning to FIGS. 2 and 3, the touch-driving line 152 is connected to atouch-driving unit (not shown) via a first routing line 156 and atouch-driving pad 170. In addition, the touch-sensing line 154 isconnected to the touch-driving unit via a second routing line 186 and atouch-sensing pad 180.

The first routing line 156 electrically connects the touch-driving pad170 to the first touch electrodes 152 e, whereby a touch-driving pulsefrom the touch-driving pad 170 is transmitted to the touch-driving line152. The second routing line 186 electrically connects the touch-sensingpad 180 to the second touch electrode 154 e, whereby a touch signal fromthe touch-sensing line 154 is transmitted to the touch-sensing pad 180.

The first and second routing lines 156 and 186 contact a side surface159 of the second inorganic encapsulation layer 146, which, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 3, is the uppermost layer of the encapsulationstack 140, so as to cover a side surface of the encapsulation stack 140.

In order to contact one of the lower dielectric films 112, 114, and 116,disposed between the substrate 111 and the encapsulation stack 140, thetouch-driving pad 170 and the touch-sensing pad 180 are disposed on thedielectric film (e.g. the passivation film 116). The touch-driving pad170 and the touch-sensing pad 180 are electrically connected to andextend from the first and second routing lines 156 and 186,respectively. Each of the touch-driving pad 170 and the touch-sensingpad 180 is formed so as to be exposed by a touch passivation film (notshown). Consequently, each of the touch-driving pad 170 and thetouch-sensing pad 180 is connected to a signal transmission film, onwhich the touch-driving unit is mounted. The touch passivation film isformed so as to cover the touch-sensing line 154 and the touch-drivingline 152, thereby preventing the touch-sensing line 154 and thetouch-driving line 152 from being corroded by external moisture. In oneembodiment, the touch passivation film is formed of an organicdielectric material, is configured in the form of a circular polarizer,or is formed of an epoxy or acrylic film.

In one embodiment, each of the second bridges 154 b, the first andsecond routing lines 156 and 186, the touch-driving pad 170, and thetouch-sensing pad 180 is formed to have a multi-layer structure in orderto realize low resistance. For example, the second bridges 154 b, thefirst and second routing lines 156 and 186, the touch-driving pad 170,and the touch-sensing pad 180 may each include first, second, and thirdtouch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, which can bedry-etched. In one embodiment, each of the first, second, and thirdtouch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c is made of at least oneof Ti, Al, Mo, MoTi, Cu, Ta, and ITO. That is, each of the secondbridges 154 b, the first and second routing lines 156 and 186, thetouch-driving pad 170, and the touch-sensing pad 180 is formed to have athree-layer stack structure, such as Ti/Al/Ti, MoTi/Cu/MoTi, orTi/Al/Mo.

In one embodiment, the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c,which constitute the second bridges 154 b, the first and second routinglines 156 and 186, the touch-driving pad 170, and the touch-sensing pad180, are patterned and formed through a dry-etching process using achlorine-based etching gas, such as Cl₂ or Cl₃. In the case in which thetouch dielectric film disposed under the touch conductive layers 151 a,151 b, and 151 c is merely an organic film, the chlorine-based etchinggas reacts with at least one of C, H, and O elements in the touchdielectric film, with the result that the touch dielectric film isdegenerated. The degenerated touch dielectric film may be recognized asspots in the display of the organic light-emitting display device. Thespots, for example, may appear in the display as areas having reducedlight intensity relative to other areas of the display, darkness inareas in which light should be emitted, or areas having discoloration.In addition, the touch dielectric film is also etched by thechlorine-based etching gas, with the result that a processing margin isreduced.

To avoid degeneration of the touch dielectric film, the touch dielectricfilm 168 is formed to have a structure in which an organic touchdielectric film 168 a and an inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b arestacked, as shown in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the organic touchdielectric film 168 a is formed of an organic film material, such asacrylic resin, epoxy resin, polyimide, or polyethylene. In oneembodiment, the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b is formed of aninorganic film material that can be dry-etched, such as aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃), tin oxide (TiO_(x)), or silicon oxide (SiO_(x)). The inorganictouch dielectric film 168 b is formed on the organic touch dielectricfilm 168 a so as to have a small thickness of 100 to 300 Å. Since theinorganic touch dielectric film 168 b is formed of an inorganic filmhaving lower hydrogen content than SiN_(x), it is possible to preventhydrogen in the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b from spreadinginto the light-emitting element 120 and active layers 134 of thetransistors T1 and T2.

In one embodiment, the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b is disposedbetween the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, whichconstitute the second bridges 154 b, the first and second routing lines156 and 186, the touch-driving pad 170, and the touch-sensing pad 180,and the organic touch dielectric film 168 a. In this embodiment, thechlorine-based etching gas, which is used at the time of etching thetouch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, is prevented fromreacting with the organic touch dielectric film 168 a by the inorganictouch dielectric film 168 b. Therefore, at the time of etching the touchconductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, the degeneration of theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a is prevented, thereby preventing thegeneration of spots.

In one embodiment, the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b is etchedat the time of dry-etching the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and151 c, which have the same etching characteristics as the inorganictouch dielectric film 168 b. However, the inorganic touch dielectricfilm 168 b is etched to less than 100 to 300 Å, which is smaller thanthe total thickness of the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b. At thetime of etching the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c,therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the organic touchdielectric film 168 a, thereby preventing the reduction of a processingmargin.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice having a touch sensor according to a second embodiment takenalong lines I-I′ and II-II′ of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a detailed plan view ofthe first and second touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e and the first andsecond bridges 152 b and 154 b shown in FIG. 5. It is beneficial toreview FIGS. 5 and 6 simultaneously.

The organic light-emitting display device shown in FIG. 5 includes manyof the same components as the organic light-emitting display deviceshown in FIG. 3 except for the positions of the first and second touchelectrodes 152 e and 154 e and the first and second bridges 152 b and154 b, and that at least one of the first touch electrode 152 e, thesecond touch electrode 154 e, the first bridge 152 b, and the secondbridge 154 b have a multi-layer structure. A detailed description of thesame components will be omitted to avoid obscuring the description ofthe second embodiment of the organic light-emitting display device.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first bridges 152 b andthe touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e are positioned further away fromthe substrate 111 than the second bridges 154 b. In other words, thefirst bridges 152 b and the touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e arepositioned above the second bridges 154 b. As the second touchelectrodes 154 e are positioned above the second bridges 154 b, thesecond touch electrodes 154 e extend through the touch contact holes 150to contact the second bridges 154 b. The forming of the touch electrodes152 e and 154 e and the bridges 152 b and 154 n will be discussed infurther detail with respect to FIGS. 7A to 7C.

At least one of the first touch electrode 152 e, the second touchelectrode 154 e, the first bridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 bincludes at least one of the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and151 c. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first touchelectrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e, the first bridge 152b, and the second bridge 154 b each include touch conductive layers 151a, 151 b, and 151 c. In one embodiment, the at least one of the firsttouch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e, the firstbridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 b has a structure in which thefirst, second, and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 chave substantially the same line width and substantially the same shape.In one embodiment, the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 care sequentially stacked. Namely, as shown in FIG. 5, the touchconductive layer 151 b is on the touch conductive layer 151 a, and thetouch conductive layer 151 c is on the touch conductive layer 151 b.

In one embodiment, at least one of the first electrode 152 e, the secondtouch electrode 154 e, the first bridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154b having the structure in which the first to third touch conductivelayers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c are stacked is formed in a mesh pattern,as shown in FIG. 6. For example, as best shown in FIG. 6, the firsttouch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e, the firstbridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 b each are formed in a meshpattern. In one embodiment, the first and second electrodes 152 e and154 e are formed in a mesh pattern, and the first and second bridges 152b and 154 b are not formed in a mesh pattern. Similar to the slits 153,the mesh pattern reduces the amount of external light that is reflected.In addition, the mesh pattern reduces the overall resistivity of thecomponent (the first touch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode154 e, the first bridge 152 b, or the second bridge 154 b) that isformed in a mesh pattern. As a result current flow of the component maybe improved.

As previously discussed, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, at least oneof the first touch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e,the first bridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 b includes at leastone of the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c. In oneembodiment, the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c aredry-etched in the same manner as the inorganic touch dielectric film 168b. In one embodiment, in the same manner as the second bridges 154 b,the first and second routing lines 156 and 186, the touch-driving pad170, and the touch-sensing pad 180, each of the touch conductive layers151 a, 151 b, and 151 c is formed of at least one selected from amongTi, Al, Mo, MoTi, Cu, Ta, and ITO. For example, at least one of thefirst touch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e, the firstbridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 b may be formed to have athree-layer stack structure, such as Ti/Al/Ti, MoTi/Cu/MoTi, orTi/Al/Mo.

As the first, second, and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b,and 151 c have high conductivity, in one embodiment, the first andsecond touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e are be formed as low-resistanceelectrodes. As a result, the resistance and capacitance of the first andsecond touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e are reduced, whereby an RC timeconstant is reduced and thus touch sensitivity is improved. In addition,in one embodiment, the line width of the first and second touchelectrodes 152 e and 154 e, which are formed in the mesh pattern, isvery small, with the result that it is possible to prevent the reductionof an aperture ratio and transmittance due to the opaque first, second,and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c included inthe first and second touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e.

The touch dielectric film 168, which is disposed under the first andsecond touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e, is formed to have a structurein which an organic touch dielectric film 168 a and an inorganic touchdielectric film 168 b are stacked. In one embodiment, the organic touchdielectric film 168 a is formed of an organic film material, such asacrylic resin, epoxy resin, polyimide, or polyethylene. In oneembodiment, the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b is formed of aninorganic film material, such as Al₂O₃, TiO_(x), or SiO_(x), which isformed on the organic touch dielectric film 168 a so as to have a smallthickness of 300 to 500 Å.

As previously discussed, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, at least oneof the first touch electrode 152 e, the second touch electrode 154 e,the first bridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154 b includes at leastone of the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c. In oneembodiment, at least one the first touch electrode 152 e, the secondtouch electrode 154 e, the first bridge 152 b, and the second bridge 154b is disposed on the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b. For example,in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first touch electrode 152 e, thesecond touch electrode 154 e, and the first bridge 152 b is disposed onthe inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b. In this embodiment, achlorine-based etching gas, which is used at the time of etching thetouch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, is prevented fromreacting with the organic touch dielectric film 168 a, which is disposedunder the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b, by the inorganic touchdielectric film 168 b. Therefore, at the time of etching the touchconductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, the degeneration of theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a is prevented, thereby preventing thegeneration of spots. Meanwhile, the inorganic touch dielectric film 168b may be etched at the time of dry-etching the touch conductive layers151 a, 151 b, and 151 c, which have the same etching characteristics asthe inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b. However, the inorganic touchdielectric film 168 b is etched to less than 300 to 500 Å, which issmaller than the total thickness of the inorganic touch dielectric film168 b. Therefore, at the time of etching the touch conductive layers 151a, 151 b, and 151 c, it is possible to prevent damage to the organictouch dielectric film 168 a, thereby preventing the reduction of aprocessing margin.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are sectional views illustrating in detail a method ofmanufacturing the organic light-emitting display device having the touchsensor shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Referring to FIG. 7A, second bridges 154 b are formed on a substrate111, on which a switching transistor T1, a driving transistor T2 (130),an organic light-emitting element 120, and an encapsulation stack 140are formed.

The second bridges 154 b are formed by depositing the first, second, andthird touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c on the entirety ofa substrate 111, on which a switching transistor T1, a drivingtransistor T2 (130), an organic light-emitting element 120, and anencapsulation stack 140 are formed. In particular, the first, second,and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c are formed onthe inorganic encapsulation layer 146 of the encapsulation stack 140. Inone embodiment, the first, second, and third touch conductive layers 151a, 151 b, and 151 c are deposited at room temperature through, forexample, a deposition process using sputtering.

Subsequently, the first, second, and third touch conductive layers 151a, 151 b, and 151 c are patterned by, for example, photolithography andetching, whereby the second bridges 154 b are formed. In one embodiment,each of the first, second, and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151b, and 151 c is formed of a metal, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo, Ta, or MoTi,so as to have a single or multi-layer structure.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the touch dielectric film 168 including theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a and the inorganic touch dielectricfilm 168 b having the same shape and the same line width are formed onthe substrate 111, on which the second bridges 154 b are formed.

The touch dielectric film 168 is formed by stacking an organicdielectric material on the substrate 111, specifically on the inorganicencapsulation layer 146 and the second bridges 154 b, to form theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a. Next, an inorganic dielectricmaterial is stacked on the organic touch dielectric film 168 a to formthe inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b. Subsequently, the organictouch dielectric film 168 a and the inorganic touch dielectric film 168b are simultaneously patterned by, for example, photolithography andetching to form touch contact holes 150.

Referring to FIG. 7C, the first and second touch electrodes 152 e and154 e and the first bridges 152 b are formed on the inorganic touchdielectric film 168 b. The second touch electrodes 154 e are also formedin the touch contact holes 150.

The first and second touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e and first bridges152 b are formed by depositing the first, second, and third touchconductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c on the entirety of theinorganic touch dielectric film 168 b having therein the touch contactholes 150. In one embodiment, the first, second, and third conductivelayers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c are deposited at room temperature througha deposition process using sputtering. Subsequently, the first, second,and third touch conductive layers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c are patternedby, for example, photolithography and etching to form the first andsecond touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e and the first bridges 152 b. Inone embodiment, each of the first to third touch conductive layers 151a, 151 b, and 151 c is formed of a metal, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo, Ta, orMoTi, so as to have a single- or multi-layer structure.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an organic light-emitting displaydevice according to a third embodiment taken along lines I-I′ and II-II′of FIG. 2.

The organic light-emitting display device shown in FIG. 8 includes manyof the same components as the organic light-emitting display deviceshown in FIGS. 3 and 5 except that the organic light-emitting displaydevice shown in FIG. 8 further includes a color filter 192 disposedbetween the encapsulation stack 140 and the touch electrodes 152 e and154 e. A detailed description of the same components will be omitted toavoid obscuring the description of the third embodiment of the organiclight-emitting display device.

As shown in FIG. 8, the color filter 192 is formed between atouch-sensing line 154 and a light-emitting element 120, and between atouch-driving line 152 and the light-emitting element 120. As a result,the distance between the touch-sensing line 154 and the light-emittingelement 120 and between the touch-driving line 152 and thelight-emitting element 120 is increased by the color filter 192.Consequently, it is possible to minimize the capacitance value of aparasitic capacitor formed between the touch-sensing line 154 and thelight-emitting element 120 and between the touch-driving line 152 andthe light-emitting element 120, thereby preventing interaction due tocoupling between the touch-sensing line 154 and the light-emittingelement 120 and between the touch-driving line 152 and thelight-emitting element 120. In addition, the color filter 192 mayprevent a liquid chemical (e.g., a developing solution or an etchingsolution), which is used to form the touch-sensing line 154 and thetouch-driving line 152 on a touch buffer film 166, or external moisturefrom permeating into the light-emitting stack 124. Consequently, thecolor filter 192 may prevent damage to the light-emitting stack 124,which has low resistance to liquid chemicals or to moisture. It shouldbe noted that the touch electrodes 152 e and 154 e, as shown in FIG. 8,have been described as being disposed on the color filter 192 by way ofexample. Alternatively, the color filter 192 may be disposed on thetouch electrodes. In this embodiment, the touch electrodes 152 e and 154e are disposed between the color filter 192 and the encapsulation stack140.

A black matrix 194 is disposed between adjacent color filters 192. Theblack matrix serves to divide sub-pixel areas from each other and toprevent optical interference between adjacent sub-pixels and screenbleed. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a black matrix 194 is positionedon the inorganic encapsulation layer 146 and between the green (G) andblue (B) color filters 192. In one embodiment, the black matrix 194 isformed of a high-resistance black dielectric material. In oneembodiment, the black matrix 194 is formed by stacking at least two ofred (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters 192 on each other.

In addition, a touch planarization film 166 is formed on the substrate111, on which the color filter 192 and the black matrix 194 are formed.The substrate 111, on which the color filter 192 and the black matrix194 are formed, is planarized by the touch planarization film 166. Thatis, the touch planarization film 166 is formed on the color filters 192and the black matrices 194 to provide a planar surface for subsequentlayers, such as the second bridges 154 b and the touch dielectric film168.

As described above, in the organic light-emitting display device havingthe touch sensor according to the present disclosure, the organic touchdielectric film 168 a and the inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b aredisposed between the touch-driving line 152, which has the first touchelectrodes 152 e and the first bridges 152 b, and the touch-sensing line154, which has the second touch electrodes 154 e and the second bridges154 b. The inorganic touch dielectric film 168 b prevents interactionbetween the organic touch dielectric film 168 a and an etching gas,which is used at the time of etching a plurality of touch conductivelayers 151 a, 151 b, and 151 c that constitute the first and secondtouch electrodes 152 e and 154 e and the first and second bridges 152 band 154 b. In the present disclosure, therefore, the degeneration of theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a is prevented, thereby preventing thegeneration of spots.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, the organic touchdielectric film 168 a is protected by the inorganic touch dielectricfilm 168 b at the time of etching the touch conductive layers 151 a, 151b, and 151 c. As a result, it is possible to prevent damage to theorganic touch dielectric film 168 a, thereby preventing the reduction ofa processing margin.

Furthermore, in a conventional organic light-emitting display device, atouchscreen is generally attached to the organic light-emitting displaydevice using an adhesive. In contrast, in the organic light-emittingdisplay device according to the present disclosure, the touch electrodes152 e and 154 e are disposed on the encapsulation stack 140, with theresult that an additional bonding process is not required, whereby theprocess is simplified and costs are reduced.

As is apparent from the above description, the display device accordingto the present disclosure includes an organic touch dielectric film andan inorganic touch dielectric film disposed between a touch-drivingline, which has first touch electrodes and first bridges, and atouch-sensing line, which has second touch electrodes and secondbridges. The inorganic touch dielectric film prevents interactionbetween the organic touch dielectric film and an etching gas, used atthe time of etching a plurality of touch conductive layers, whichconstitute the first and second touch electrodes and the first andsecond bridges. In the present disclosure, therefore, the degenerationof the organic touch dielectric film is prevented, thereby preventingthe generation of spots. In addition, according to the presentdisclosure, the organic touch dielectric film is protected by theinorganic touch dielectric film at the time of etching the touchconductive layers. Consequently, it is possible to prevent damage to theorganic touch dielectric film, thereby preventing the reduction of aprocessing margin. Furthermore, in a conventional organic light-emittingdisplay device, a touchscreen is generally attached to the organiclight-emitting display device using an adhesive. In contrast, in theorganic light-emitting display device according to the presentdisclosure, the touch electrodes are disposed on an encapsulation stack,with the result that an additional bonding process is not required,whereby the process is simplified and costs are reduced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present disclosurewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, itis intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications andvariations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. These and other changes can be made to theembodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, inthe following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limitthe claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all possibleembodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a substrate;a light-emitting element disposed on the substrate; an encapsulationstack disposed on the light-emitting element, the encapsulation stackincluding a plurality of inorganic encapsulation layers and an organicencapsulation layer disposed between the inorganic encapsulation layers;an organic touch dielectric film disposed on the encapsulation stack; aninorganic touch dielectric film disposed on a top surface of the organictouch dielectric film; first touch electrodes arranged on the inorganictouch dielectric film in a first direction; a first bridgeinterconnecting the first touch electrodes, the first bridge beingdisposed on the inorganic touch dielectric film; second touch electrodesarranged on the inorganic touch dielectric film in a second directiontransverse to the first direction; and a second bridge interconnectingthe second touch electrodes through a contact hole formed in the organictouch dielectric film and the inorganic touch dielectric film, thesecond bridge being disposed between the organic touch dielectric filmand the encapsulation stack, wherein the first bridge and the secondbridge overlap each other with the organic touch dielectric film and theinorganic touch dielectric film interposed therebetween.
 2. The displaydevice according to claim 1, further comprising: first routing lineselectrically connected to the first touch electrodes, the first routinglines extending from the first touch electrodes; and second routinglines electrically connected to the second touch electrodes, the secondrouting lines extending from the second touch electrodes.
 3. The displaydevice according to claim 2, wherein the first and second routing linesare disposed on side surfaces of the encapsulation stack.
 4. The displaydevice according to claim 3, further comprising: a first touch padelectrically connected to the first routing line; and a second touch padelectrically connected to the second routing line.
 5. The display deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the first and second touch pads areconfigured to contact the at least one of the first to third dielectricfilms.
 6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the firsttouch electrodes are spaced apart from each other on inorganic touchdielectric film in the first direction, and each of the first touchelectrodes is electrically connected to an adjacent first touchelectrode via the first bridge, and wherein the second touch electrodesare spaced apart from each other on inorganic touch dielectric film inthe second direction, and each of the second touch electrodes iselectrically connected to an adjacent second touch electrode via thesecond bridge.
 7. The display device according to claim 6, wherein thefirst bridge, the first touch electrodes, and the second touchelectrodes are disposed on the same layer.
 8. The display deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a driving transistorelectrically coupled to the light-emitting element, the drivingtransistor including a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drainelectrode, and an active layer; a first dielectric film disposed betweenthe gate electrode and the active layer of the driving transistor; asecond dielectric film disposed between the active layer and the sourceand drain electrodes of the driving transistor; and a third dielectricfilm disposed between the source and drain electrodes and thelight-emitting element, the at least one layer of dielectric film beingat least one of the first to third dielectric films.
 9. The displaydevice according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the first touchelectrodes, the second touch electrodes, the first bridge, and thesecond bridge is formed in a mesh pattern.
 10. The display deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a color filter disposedbetween the encapsulation stack and the touch sensor.
 11. The displaydevice according to claim 1, further comprising: a color filter disposedon the touch sensor, the touch sensor being disposed between the colorfilter and the encapsulation stack.
 12. A display device, comprising: asubstrate; a light-emitting element disposed on the substrate; anencapsulation stack disposed on the light-emitting element, theencapsulation stack including a plurality of inorganic encapsulationlayers and an organic encapsulation layer disposed between the inorganicencapsulation layers; a touch sensor including a touch-sensing line anda touch-driving line disposed on the encapsulation stack, thetouch-sensing line and the touch-driving line overlapping each other; anorganic touch dielectric film disposed on the encapsulation stack; aninorganic touch dielectric film disposed on a top surface of the organictouch dielectric film; wherein the touch-driving line includes firsttouch electrodes arranged on the inorganic touch dielectric film in afirst direction, and a first bridge for interconnecting the first touchelectrodes, wherein the touch-sensing line includes second touchelectrodes arranged on the inorganic touch dielectric film in a seconddirection that is transverse to the first direction, and a second bridgefor interconnecting the second touch electrodes, and wherein the organictouch dielectric film and the inorganic touch dielectric film aredisposed between the encapsulation stack and first and second touchelectrodes.